KISS, DEEP PURPLE AND NIRVANA ARE AMONG SOME OF THE NOMINEES UP FOR INDUCTION INTO THE ROCK N’ ROLL HALL OF FAME

The nominations for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s Class of 2014 are in, and the list includes Nirvana, KISS, the Replacements and Hall and Oates. The rest of this year’s hopefuls include the Paul Butterfield Blues Band, Chic, Deep Purple, Peter Gabriel, LL Cool J, N.W.A, Link Wray, the Meters, Linda Ronstadt, Cat Stevens, Yes and the Zombies. The top vote-getters will be inducted in April at a ceremony in New York City.

For the second consecutive year, the public gets to vote alongside the artists, historians and music industry insiders of the Rock Hall voting body. From now until December 10th, fans can vote on RollingStone.com for the nominees they’d like to see inducted. The top five acts will comprise a “fan’s ballot” that will count as one of the more than 600 ballots that determine the Class of 2014.

In order to be eligible for this year’s ballot, artists or bands need to have released their first single or album in 1988 or earlier. Many of the nominees have appeared on previous ballots, but this is the first appearance for Nirvana, Peter Gabriel, Hall and Oates, the Replacements, Linda Ronstadt, Link Wray, Cat Stevens, Yes and the Zombies. (Gabriel was inducted as a member of Genesis in 2009.)

Nirvana is the only act this year to land on the ballot in its first year of eligibility. Their cover of Love Buzz by Shocking Blue was their first single, hitting stores in late 1988.

If Yes are inducted, it might lead to their first performance with original singer Jon Anderson since 2004. “I don’t have any anger about our exclusion,” Yes bassist Chris Squire told Rolling Stone in 2011. “But it would be a magnificent thing if they would include every member of Yes – I think there’s about 19 or 20 of us.”

Comments

I hope KISS and Deep Purple get inducted into the R&RHOF! This is KISS’ 2nd nomination and they deserve to be voted in! If Deep Purple gets in maybe this will bring Ritchie Blackmore to comeout and support his former band!

I would just like KISS to get in so we can see Gene, Paul, Ace, Peter, Tommy, Eric, Bruce, Vinnie, and Bob get up on stage and do Rock N Roll all night together. Tommy could show Ace how to do the solo again, and someone could explain to Peter how he’s not getting paid for the night’s performance.

What’s with the hate on rap artists and disco and mainstream pop rock artists when they are nominated in the Rock Hall. I understand the need for more hard rock/metal/prog acts, but you have to all understand that the Rock Hall takes a broader view of what “rock music” is. To me rock music is any form of popular music from 1955 (with a few exceptions like 90s dance music, boy bands, etc.)

Its not hating the rap, pop & disco artists. The fact of the matter is that the founders chose to call it the ROCK & ROLL hall of fame not the music hall of fame. Rap, disco, pop and any other genre should not be considered for entry by the founders own definition. The whole concept is a joke anyway, bands that have proven their popularity, influence, impact and longevity (KISS, PURPLE) are ostracized because an arrogant minority that have elected themselves as a panel of “experts” think they know better than hundreds of thousands of fans.

I think the hate is for RAP acts getting in before legitimate rock acts getting in (like DP, Iron Maiden, KISS, the list goes on and on). Considering most popular RAP artists had to sample rock songs and incorporate them into their work makes it even harder to accept. I am/was a huge Run DMC fan, along wtih LL Cool J, Grand Master Flash, and Beastie Boys. But if an LL Cool J gets into the RRHOF, it should be after artists who truly are rock n roll. Realistically I don’t even know why I’m commenting on this, as I don’t give 2 rats asses who gets into a corporate so-called ‘hall of fame’. But I guess it gives us something to talk about when there’s no news about Kip Winger or Great White.

Deep purple and kiss are influential bands and still are to this very day..such a shame that they are getting fucked around..the rock n roll hall of fame are as blind as ray Charles and Stevie wonder when it comes to inducting deserving rock bands

I think Yes will go in right away and they should. Spearheaded progressive rock. Top drawing and selling band for over 2 decades etc….. Zombies are a critic’s favorite due to the brilliant LP “Odessey and Oracle.” Deep Purple deserves to go in with their innovative blend of classical with hard rock and top tours and record sales.

Linda Rondstadt to me just picked a bunch of great songs and really didn’t improve or change them much. Listen to “Heatwave” by Martha and the Vandellas – it ain’t any different than Lindas. “Poor Poor Pitiful Me” – same thing. “Ooh Baby” ditto. She just was packaged by the record company to resell a bunch of great black songs to whitey. And I love her voice and think in her prime she was drop-dead gorgeous. But gotta call it like I see it.

Cat Stevens was unique sounding and hugely popular and acclaimed. He’ll get in. Probably gotta put “Butterfield Blues Band” in too. Best white traditional blues band around and the “East West” LP was very groundbreaking. No need to comment on KISS. They ain’t going in.

Any coincidence that now Linda Ronstadt has announced she has Parkinson’s and can no longer sing she is FINALLY nominated? Just like how, after six nominations, Donna Summer is inducted AFTER HER DEATH? REALLY? Does Joan Jett have to get sick or die in order to be inducted? The Rock n Roll Hall of Shame indeed. Don’t get me started on KISS, Deep Purple, etc., etc., etc. not yet inducted….

I would have been happy about this years ago, but the Gene Simmons schtick has worn on me. Frankly, I hope that asshole never gets to get on stage and grandstand and without a doubt, make it about himself. Something tells me Ace and Peter would not be a part of it, and Gene would slip in some sort of reference for the millionth time that they had drug problems. I’ll always have the music, at least.

Amen, brother. I feel exactly the same way. Not to mention the fact that Simmons and Stanley have bad mouthed the Hall of Fame for years. But if they get in, they’ll be there performing in a heartbeat. Just solidifies what sad sell outs they’ve become. So disappointing, because they were a pretty great band in the day.

Dammit Richman those test results were supposed to remained sealed as per the union agreement. And some of those bands didn’t even know they were on roids. They were just taking stuff that their cousins gave them back in the Dominican.

Kurt Cobain was a huge KISS fan and Dave Grohl was, and still is a huge KISS fan. Says it all doesn’t it?
KISS is one of the most influential bands on this planet. The fans LOVE them. Critics HATE them. Why? Because KISS never needed them. KISS are the epitome of Rock and Roll rebellion. They took the Rock and Roll rule book and ripped it to shreds. One would think for that reason alone – the musical elites would appreciate them. So, having said that – the voting committee will of course welcome in Cat Stevens.
Their omission of true Rock legends such as KISS, Deep Purple, Thin Lizzy, etc is astonishingly arrogant and childish. We ( the fans ) know the voting committee are idiots. The problem is there is nothing we can do about it. They’re like bad university teaches with tenure.
So on induction night, grab a cold one, some pop corn, and watch the ceremony, as they induct some band or artist you’ve likely never heard of.

I’ll defend Tony on the basis that nobody did what KISS did in the 70’s when they first came out. Not even the New York Dolls took it to that level. Haters wouldn’t even listen to their music and panned it because of their schtick, but they wouldn’t change it. As Paul Stanley says ‘we wanted to be the band that we never got to see’. They spent money on stage designs and costumes that most bands would rather keep in their own pockets. KISS was the first marketing machine outside of The Beatles and Elvis. Their music was good to (first 6 albums plus the live albums). People can hate on them all they want, but 40 years later they’re still here and they’re still doing the same thing. I won’t call them influential – but clearly alot of artists who rose up in the 70’s, 80’s, 90’s, and even today were fans. So in a way, they are an epitome of rock n roll rebellion. They certainly didn’t take the easy way when they first came out.

DR: How is marketing and merchandizing “rock and roll rebellion?” I guess if you look at Woodstock and the “Counter culture” – i.e. the anti-corporate, anti-establishment culture, KISS certainly was very rebellious. They basically said screw the hippie-ethic, let’s bring good old greed right back into the equation.

Nirvana is an automatic, whether you like them or not. They might have been the most influential rock band of the 1990s. They SINGLEHANDLY MADE HAIR METAL UNCOOL! Their was hard rock and metal pre-Nirvana and post-Nirvana. Way more influential than KISS by the way. It’s not even close. Nirvana was a game changer. And I don’t care if some 14 year old kid who just started playing guitar can play their stuff. It wasn’t complex, but they changed the music world.

Ill NEVER understand how someone like Chaka-kan gets in before the likes of Rush, KISS, Deep Purple ect. Oh, BTW I see that Judas Priest is ONCE AGAIN left off…only been around for 40 plus years! What the hell do I know anyways!!!!!!!!

Amen Scott! Get the Priest in there! Priest took Deep Purple and Sabbath to a whole new level. No one had the power and range of Halford’s voice and the dual guitarists, leads and lics were something original. Maybe some day…but like you, what the hell do I know anyways!!!

KISS ain’t never getting in. And quite frankly, maybe the biggest honor is NOT to be in the RHOF? I don’t think that KISS really cares about it, they certainly don’t need to be in there, nor does Deep Purple, both bands have made their marks in Rock history.

Totally agree Jimi – I wouldn’t want to be in the the corporate HOF if I were them. Never been a huge Axl fan, but I loved the fact he didn’t show last year – that attitude is pure rock n roll. Going to a dinner that you have to pay for in order to get a plaque from a guy in a suit and tie saying your ‘rock n roll enough’ for their little club – that is the most un-rock n roll thing I could ever think of. Who gives a shit who’s in this fucking hall of fame? Let the CD’s/Cassettes/LP’s on your shelf decide who’s in a hall of fame – not some 60 year old losers in suits.

I like the idea of Eddie or somebody having a Hard Rock/Rock/Metal Hall Of Fame to counter the elitist old hippie fags that vote on the RRHOF commitee..what a joke they would even nominate NWA..RAP is not ROCK!

Here is just some of the iconic groups not in the Rock An Roll Hall Of Fame: Boston, Bad Company, Cheap Trick, Journey, The Cars, Def Leppard, Dire Straits, Foreigner, Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Joan Jett, Joe Wash, Sammy Hagar just a few of the many ligit rock groups not in but rap is?

Lot’s of responses already to the “why the hate on rap/pop etc.?” but I’ll just reiterate – it’s no hate or disrespect to them at all. It’s that the “ROCK AND ROLL” hall of fame doesn’t include many of the most important ROCK AND ROLL artists of all time. You don’t see hockey players in the baseball hall of fame right? Could you imagine Mariano Rivera not getting into the baseball hall of fame (or even nominated) because Jaromir Jagr took a spot on the ballot instead? Preposterous – he’s not even a baseball player! I have the same feeling about the RRHOF. George said to him rock music is any form of popular music since 1955 with a few exceptions, well I must respectfully disagree with that. It has certainly evolved over the decades and there is some cross pollinization that can make some artists hard to define, but I’ve never seen anyone adamantly say that Madonna is rock, or Chaka Khan is rock, or NWA or Public Enemy is rock. I listen to a rock radio station and they do not play one song by any of those artists, or countless others that are already enshrined in the RRHOF…. because they are not rock and roll. As it is now and has been for some time (all of its time perhaps), the RRHOF is a misnomer. It should be retitled the Popular Music Hall of Fame. I don’t like KISS, but they should have gone in long ago. It’s unfathomable to me how Deep Purple isn’t in, or that Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Def Leppard, Bad Company, Dire Straits, Jethro Tull, Journey, Steppenwolf, Stevie Ray Vaughn, Thin Lizzy, Boston, Scorpions to name just a handful have been eligible for varying numbers of years without even a single nomination – yet Madonna, Public Enemy, Prince and Run DMC get voted in their first year of eligibility. It’s not that the non-rock artists don’t deserve the accolades, they absolutely do, but when we expect something to honor “rock and roll” and see who we regard as actual rock artists being completely ignored in favor of those who we see as distinctly NOT rock and roll it makes the whole thing seem foul. Like several of us have said, it’s not the rock hall anymore (if it ever truly was), and that’s fine but it shouldn’t be called as such anymore.

I voted for KISS, Hall and Oates, Yes, Nirvana and Deep Purple. Like any entry to a “hall of fame,” to me, and to use sports analogies, one has to have 1) statistics (album sales, charting), 2) championships/rings (music awards, achievements) and 3) longevity. Nirvana does not have the latter, but they were game changers. Linda Ronstadt is certainly deserving too. BTW, “Stu” above compilies a tremendous list of artists who absolutely should be in their!

*sigh* Here we go again. Kiss, DP, and Yes are definitely deserving. I respect Grohl tremendously, but always considered Nirvana and Corbain overrated and really did not appreciate how Kurt was regarded by the press as some sort of deity after his death, particularly given the method of departure. Regardless, I’m sure the big N will get in and I’ll be pleased for Grohl if they do. I just hope that some of the bands a bit more deserving also find their way in as Rush did last year. And I’ll plus 1 all the comments about the rap artists not really being R&R. I like LL, Run DMC, Public Enemy, and Newcleus (Jam On It, anyone?) but not as rock artists because they’re simply not. I’ll even give Hall & Oates a reluctant nod of approval. Though I consider H&O more pop than rock, there was some real musicality to what they created. They’ll always have my respect. It’s unfortunate that Kiss gets overlooked musically. They were and are unapologetic entertainers and took full advantage of showmanship with huge help from Aucoin, Bogart, Delaney, and co., but there were some really cool things that happened musically if you listen with your ears instead of your eyes or actually sit and learn to play some of their material. R&R All Night, Do You Love Me?, Lick It Up, and their kin are yawn fests, but that doesn’t mean other songs are lacking.

Clevelander here and even I can’t agree with some of the member that are in the Hall. There are some serious bands/musicians that are not inducted that are long over-do…(KISS,Deep Purple) and yet we get “pop” acts like Madonna and “Rap” acts that make it in before these deserving bands…

My votes went to Deep Purple, Kiss, Hall & Oates, Yes, and Cat Stevens. I’m not a big fan of Nirvana, but recognize the musical impact they made in the ’90s. For that, they probably deserve to be in there as well.

I have my own RRHOF…its called YouTube…I can call up all my fav bands that I grew up with and I can skip all the crap I don’t like..That being said, even though the RRHOF is for the most part clueless on it inductees, it does serve one purpose…..I call for all headbangers, the next time you’re in Cleveland, stand on the steps of the building and give them the finger! (or half the peace sign, as I like to call it)..Ohh and to all the haters of 80s metal/hard rock: MTV didn’t pass them over in favor of shows about pregnant teenagers..